


i'll be the lucky one (livin' it up)

by cherryhwa



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Cute Confessions, High School AU, M/M, also middle blocker mingi bc i said so, been in the drafts for a while, can we get an f in the chat, damn i felt that one, mingi gets hit in the face by a volleyball, mingi is in his feelings, minor misunderstandings i think, pretty setter seonghwa, pure fluff, sports as an emotional crutch, stan minhwa, the summary is wack this is a happy ending, they're a volleyball team, they're just awkward and cute, this is grossly cliche im so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryhwa/pseuds/cherryhwa
Summary: mingi uses volleyball to cope with emotions such as anger, love, sadness that someone like park seonghwa will never date him...oh wow that spiraled pretty fast
Relationships: Park Seonghwa/Song Mingi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 115





	i'll be the lucky one (livin' it up)

**Author's Note:**

> helloo, it's like 4am for me, but this is an au that's been in the drafts for a while n i got a random spark of motivation to finish it ! pls note my knowledge of volleyball stems from haikyuu n playing it in uni for one quarter lol. this is absolutely not beta read or edited at all. i'm really tired so good night, i love mingi n hwa, pls enjoy !!
> 
> \- title from exo's "lucky one"

“You’re gonna stay behind today?” With the way Yunho is eyeing Mingi, you’d think Mingi had just told him he planned to rob a bank today. Not stay behind and get some ‘extra practice’ in. 

To be fair, he had never really stayed behind before. He always went with the team to the nearby convenience store right after practice to go eat and joke around. Buy a couple curry buns. Maybe get yelled at by the old woman who owned the store to “go home and eat a real dinner!”

Mingi’s also notorious on the team for winging everything in his life. Even if he’s completely unprepared, he manages to do unusually well. From tests to games to a new synchronized play, his teammates were jealous of him for always getting _lucky_.

Well. Not always.

But, thanks to Yunho’s fucking loudmouth, his teammates were all staring at him, wide eyed. Even the captain, Hongjoong, and Coach Yonghwan were staring..

“Yeah.” Mingi picks up the nearest volleyball and tries to nonchalantly bump the ball to Yunho. “Why not? Spring tournament is coming up soon. I should practice, maybe you should too? See who’s the better spiker?”

Yunho shakes his head, but he still looks suspicious. “Dude. You never do extra practice. Jongho, yeah. Seoho-hyung, maybe. Not you. You told me once that you would never do extra practice because it quote-unquote, ‘physically pains you to exercise more than the mandated practice time.”

Mingi silently curses his best friend.

“Also, aside from the fact that you’re being suspicious as hell,” Yunho continues. “We have a math test tomorrow, remember?”

“Yeah, last time I checked, Mingi, you’re fucking shit at math.” Yeosang, a setter, says as he comes up to them, pushing a cart of volleyballs in their direction. “This should be the least of your worries.” Mingi sticks out his tongue at his overly blunt teammate.

“Shut up, Yeosang.”

“If Yeosang is right though,” Hongjoong is standing in front of him. Mingi jumps. He hadn’t noticed their captain there. “You should go study. Spring tournament is important, but not as important as your grades.”

“Wow, hyung, you’re so small, I didn’t see you there.” Mingi dodges a “yah!” and a smack, and grins. “I’ll be fine tomorrow, I’ll just stay up late.”

“I’m not sure how to even begin here.” Hongjoong mutters but sighs. “Fine. As long as you promise to lock up the gym after. Then go. Home. And you get one hour max.”

Mingi cheekily fake-salutes his captain, who just rolls his eyes as he slings his bag over his shoulder.

He can’t tell them why he wants to stay back. Like hell it’s because he needs the practice. Like stated before, he’s _lucky_.

Yunho and Hongjoong leave, and he turns around to grab a ball, preparing to practice.

“Hey.”

Mingi freezes. That can’t be the person he thinks it is. That guy wouldn’t stay behind. Not with the fact that he was probably going to go confess to whatever girl he liked and have a good Valentine’s Day, while Mingi was going to wallow in his misery with his one love, volleyball-

“Mingi-yah.” Someone taps him on the shoulder and he sighs, turning around to see the last person he wants to see.

Park Seonghwa.

The pretty, perfect third year setter that had the middle blocker’s heart and head in tangles.

“Why are you staying back?” Seonghwa’s soft voice floats through the now-empty gym. “You don’t normally stay back. Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Mingi forces a laugh, tightening his grip on the ball. “Yeah, hyung, I’m fine. Just wanted to practice more.”

Seonghwa looks really confused.

Okay, Yunho was right. Mingi practicing on his own was highly suspicious. 

The older boy tilts his head, looking like he wants to ask more questions, but instead turns around and sets his bag down.

‘Wh-what are you doing?” 

“I’ll stay back with you.” Seonghwa says simply, rolling up his sleeves. He had already gotten dressed in the school uniform, but he kicked his shoes off and pulled his volleyball shoes out of his bag.

“Wait, hyung, you don’t have to-”

Mingi’s voice catches as he sees the pink and red boxes in Seonghwa’s bag peek out and he looks away.

Right. The reason why he was about to burn his forearms the same color in hopes to transfer the pain from his head to his arms.

If it’s not obvious already, Mingi has a stupid crush on the older boy. Ever since the day he walked in as a meek, terrified first year, he’d taken one glance at the perfect, composed second year and fallen head over heels.

It wasn’t hard, not with Seonghwa having a face pretty enough to start wars. (Yeah that’s right, Mingi paid attention in history (sporadically)) But Seonghwa was also sweet, and kind, and helped Mingi feel more comfortable on the team in the first few weeks following his acceptance. He was also soft-spoken, but when it came to matches, some kind of fire was ignited in him. His plays were perfect, setting the ball to their wing spikers Wooyoung and Dongju with ease. Safe to say, Mingi was fucking _whipped_.

“Do you want to practice serves?” Seonghwa’s voice penetrates his thoughts again, and Mingi shakes his head, blinking.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, sure.” Mingi fumbles. How can he not, with Seonghwa smiling like _that_?

Like all cute, and gentle, and fucking beautiful.

“You wanna receive first, or me?”

“I-I can do it.” Mingi turns quickly, ducking under the net to hurry to the other side. He turns around, positioning his stance. “Ready!”

For a minute, he’s entranced by the graceful way Seonghwa hits it. No one, he thinks, should look this good doing an overhand serve, but here he was, watching motherfucking Park Seonghwa hit the ball like he was doing ballet.

Okay, maybe he’s exaggerating.

It flies towards him, and he quickly removes all thoughts of Seonghwa as he receives it, the ball flying in the air before it hits the floor, a dull thud.

“Nice serve!” He yells at the older, who smiles that cute pained looking smile at him, and Mingi thinks if he were hooked up to an electrocardiograph, he definitely would have flatlined.

Seonghwa goes to get another ball, and Mingi watches as he walks to the cart and picks up a ball. The older boy’s hands look nice, and the younger fights with all his strength to keep the E-rated thoughts out of his head.

So instead, because his brain likes to remind him of not-fun times, he thinks about lunch. The earlier lunchtime he had spent with Park Seonghwa.

_“What do you want, Mingi?” Seonghwa asked, fingers poised to press into the keypad._

_Seonghwa had asked to Mingi to go to the vending machine during lunch, luring him with the promise that he’d buy ‘whatever it is you like with the ungodly amounts of sugar’ for him. And despite Mingi’s rational brain telling him this was Not a date, his idiot heart was telling him it was._

_“Hmmmm, hyung will get me anything right?” Mingi fake-pouted, glancing at the setter, who just rolled his eyes._

_“Yes, Mingi.”_

_“Then,” Mingi’s lips curved into a smirk, “can I-”_

_“Park Seonghwa?”_

_They both turned around to see a girl standing in front of them. Rather, more like bowing._

_She couldn’t have been more than a first-year, maybe a second-year? But she was holding out a red box, and Mingi’s heart twinged when he realized what was happening._

_She was confessing to Seonghwa._

_“Um, Seonghwa-oppa, I think you’re really cool, and I really like you! Please accept my confession!”_

_Internally, Mingi laughed. That was her confession? That was all she had to say to Seonghwa? Really, he would have been able to say so much more-_

_“Thank you.” Seonghwa said softly, but he pushed the box away. The girl straightened up, her face colored bright red. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your feelings.”_

_“Why not?” She asked._

_Seonghwa smiled. “There’s someone else I like.”_

And with those words, Mingi’s world had come crashing down around him.

Seonghwa liked someone. Someone that probably wasn’t Mingi.

Sure, Mingi lives, even thrives, off luck. But he was sure that he wasn’t lucky enough to be the one Seonghwa liked.

So he had spent the rest of the school day moping, listlessly staring out of the window during class even when Yunho or the teacher tried to get him back to earth. Thinking about pretty, perfect Park Seonghwa who would never consider Mingi as a boyfriend option.

Maybe he was being dramatic. Yunho says he’s way too fucking dramatic for his own good. “Like a theater actor.” as his best friend has stressed multiple times. But Mingi has not been able to get the pretty black haired setter out of his head since the first day of high school.

It sucked, because Seonghwa was popular. While he was too humble to outright state it himself, the volleyball team knew why people came to their games. Sure they had gone to nationals (despite losing) and Mingi has to admit no one on the team is bad-looking. But their third-year setter was loved by most who met him, and had a personality to prove it. 

“Mingi!”

One minute Mingi’s thinking about Seonghwa, and the next there’s a fucking volleyball slamming into his face. He stumbles backwards with a surprised yelp, and falls on his ass.

It be like that sometimes?

“Oh my God, fuck.” Mingi moans, holding his cheek where he’s sure there’s a bright red mark. Well, that’s what he gets for zoning out on a volleyball court.

“Mingi, oh my, are you okay?” Is Seonghwa a guardian angel? Because damn he looks beautiful, crouching worriedly above him, and oh wait does he have a concussion-

“Yeah, ‘m fine.” He manages.

Seonghwa definitely does not look convinced, much like earlier in response to Mingi’s lie, but he sighs. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. Should I get ice? Maybe that will help make it feel better?”

“You should kiss it to make it better.” Mingi jokes. Before realizing exactly what the fuck it is he just said. “Wait, oh my God-”

He expects the older to recoil back, maybe roll his eyes and help him up to go get ice from the back room. Maybe a light scolding, or radio silence even.

However, he does not expect to feel soft lips pressed against his injured cheek, and those lips being connected to _Seonghwa_.

Mingi thinks his brain just shorted out.

Seonghwa is bright red, not looking at him and just awkwardly twisting the ends of his uniform shirt in his hands. 

Hold the phone. Park Mcfreaking Seonghwa just kissed him. Albeit on the cheek, but it was a kiss.

Yunho is so going to hear about this.

They sit there for a second before Mingi speaks.

“U-um, hyung-”

Seonghwa moves so fast Mingi thinks for a second he’s like The Flash or something. But all thoughts come to an immediate halt when he feels the insistent pressure of the older’s lips on his.

Mingi’s brain is officially checked out.

Because this is happening. Park Seonghwa is kissing him. Here. Now. On the dirty-ass gym floor. Okay.

He slowly kisses back, and the setter’s hands fumble to wrap around Mingi’s neck as he climbs awkwardly into his lap.

_Seonghwa is a good kisser_. is all Mingi can think about, his mouth occupied by the very boy he’s been dreaming about kissing for a year. The other is making tiny, sweet noises as Mingi kisses him, and honestly, he feels like kissing Seonghwa forever.

When they pull apart, Mingi blurts out, “I like you.”

Seonghwa chuckles, pushing back his wavy black hair. His lips are pink and red, Mingi’s really trying hard not to look, okay. “You think I couldn’t figure that out, Mingi-ah.”

“What?”

“You’re not very subtle when it comes to jealousy.” Seonghwa tilts his head.

Oh. The vending machine.

After the girl confessed and Seonghwa declined, the walk back was excruciatingly awkward. They didn’t talk. Mingi got his orange soda, but it didn’t taste so sweet mixed with bitter envy. 

“Ah.” Mingi feels his face heat up, but the setter giggles.

Park Seonghwa is giggling. Oh my God, Mingi tells the earth to just swallow him up now, because he’s officially dead. 

“It’s okay. It’s cute. You’re cute.” Seonghwa exhales. “I like you. Too, I mean. Although this is not how I imagined confessing to you.”

There’s no way this is happening. Mingi lurches forward, burying his face in Seonghwa’s shirt. “I’m dreaming, right. No way you like me.”

Seonghwa giggles, that adorable, pretty sound again. “No, Mingi, you’re not dreaming. It’s real, I swear.”

Mingi hums. Frankly, he really can’t believe this is happening. “Okay. Prove it then.”

The older boy pushes Mingi’s face out of his shirt and smiles. “Alright.”

When Seonghwa’s lips press against his again, sweet and precious and everything Mingi has ever wanted, he smiles.

Well, Mingi is a pretty lucky guy after all.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !! follow me on twt @ treasureyeo uwuu


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